Embracing Insanity
by PsychoBoss
Summary: Dib finally snaps during a fight with Zim and such emotional trauma forces him into a coma. Without Dib, Zim is bored so he drags Gaz with him to wake his enemy. But the only way to do that is to enter his mind. Maybe... Dib really is insane. ON HOLD!
1. Prolouge: All Nightmare Long

A/N: This is my first fanfiction so I'm not sure how well this will turn out. This is A ZADR fic, 'kay? Or at least it will border on ZADR. The rating may be changed eventually.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or the lyrics to "All Nightmare Long". Zim belongs to Jhonen Vasquez and "All Nightmare Long" belongs to Metallica.

Prologue: All Nightmare Long

Dib P.O.V.

_Where am I? Wha-what am I doing here? I look around to find myself lying in pile of rubble and debris. Slabs of what look to be what was once a building lay strewn around me. Trails of smoke dance its way into the black abyss surrounding the ruins. I stare, entranced as it makes black shapes that fade away and form something new, an endless cycle of movement. The sound of movement snaps me out of trance. Panic rises in my chest for reasons unknown, but I crawl out of the remains apprehensively regardless._

"_**Luck. Runs. Out."**_

_My eyes widen in fear, my chest pounding, my heart slamming into my ribcage for freedom and my breathing hastens to the point where it's coming and going too fast for me to catch. One step back, two steps, three steps, I take one more step before I turn on my heels and run. Blurs of purple and grey fly past my vision, the pounding of my boots against the shards of crackling glass and my panting loud in my ears, I don't know why, but I know not to look back. Screaming fills my head, but I know it's not really there. Red, it's everywhere, but nowhere, I see it, I smell it, I feel it, I taste it. No! It's not there! It can't be! Run, run and don't look back, it can't be there! I continue down the destroyed street, lampposts bent at odd angles, cars flipped over, broken and shattered, buildings loom over me, ready to topple over. _

"_**Crawl from the wreckage one more time."**_

_No… I hear it. _

"_**Horrific memory twists the mind."**_

_NO!__ Why?! _

"_**Dark, rutted, cold and hard to turn."**_

_Not again!_

"_**Path of destruction feel it burn."**_

_I pick up the pace, I have to escape. I can't let _**IT**_ catch me, _**IT**_ is following me, I hear _**IT'S**_footsteps. I clumsily leap over a fallen trash can and turn the corner._

"_**Hallucination. Heresy."**_

_I almost scream at what lies before me. Masses of bodies, black splotched with ugly purple, hideous lumpy things with no apparent facial features but their yellow eyes. The misshapen figures stare at me with an odd look that seemed impossible for beings without a face. That look causes a sickened chill to run across my spine, but is temporarily forgotten when the sound of crunching glass comes from behind me, I gasp and realize that I had stopped in stunned revulsion. I begin a new in my dash, towards the demons, but away from_ **IT**_**. **_

"_**Still you run, what's to come, what's to be."**_

_The strange beings watch as I race in their direction and my eyes widen to the point of falling out as every one of them grows a smile filled with jagged sharp teeth. With this I skid slightly as I change directions and run to the left down another street, away from the monsters. To my horror, I hear a stampede of feet following me. I look over my shoulder to find that the gruesome creatures were fast on my trail with wicked smiles. _

"_**Cause we... hunt you down without mercy. Hunt you down all nightmare long."**_

_I stumble as I attempt to run faster, faster, faster. I can't let them catch me! They are closing in, so close that I can almost feel their breathing. I feel every jump, every lunge, and every shove as they push each other to reach me._

"_**Feel us breathe upon your face. Feel us shift, every move we trace."**_

_I have become the prey, stricken with fear and they are the predators. My eyes are wide as they shift franticly for an escape, a passage, a door, something! _

"_**Hunt you down without mercy. Hunt you down all nightmare long."**_

_That voice! _**IT'S**_still after me I can hear _**IT**_! I'm not sure what will happen, but I know that if _**IT**_ catches me, horrible, TERRIBLE things will happen. Not only to me, but to- I stumble in shock._

_NO! HOW!? I somehow ran in a circle! But I-how?! I find myself staring at what is left of the housing structure once more. Why does it look familiar? I flinch as the sound of _**IT'S**_ laughter reverberates off the towering walls of brick and cement. Fretfully, I look around, but I only find one place to hide. I dive into the rubble and dig until I find a small open area. I sit down hugging my knees to my quaking chest and try to calm my accelerated breathing. Then I hear _**IT**_again. _

"_**You crawl back in," **__Shit! Does_**IT**_know I'm here?__**"But your luck runs out."**__Oh, no…_

_I blink rapidly as an eerie blue light suddenly__ leaks __in through the cracks of my hiding place, I grope around the ash and gravel covered soil finding only pebbles and dirt when my hand touches a long, cylinder metal object. A pipe? I grip it so tightly that my knuckles felt as though they would rip through my skin, but in my fear I dare not let go. Dust filters into my shelter as movement is heard, coming closer and closer then stops. Silence… the silence scares me more the shifting hunks of concrete. I wait, trying to be as still as possible. I listen for footsteps, breathing, anything to stop my panic-stricken mind. _

_A painful jolt runs through my body, sending the hair on my neck rigid. My blood is piercing my veins in its rapid velocity. Like electricity, it flows through every cell, every bone, every tissue then to my hand and into the metal in my palm. This pain causes me to release the pipe as it clatters to the ground and I unwittingly try to scream, but it never reaches my throat. The ringing in my ears is so loud that I barely hear _**IT**_ chant again, __**"**__**The light that is not light is here. To flush you out with your own fear. You hide; you hide but will be found. Release your grip without a sound."**_

_In a flash, the rocks are blown away, flying in every direction with smaller pieces embedded into my skin. Before me is that bright light with a tall silhouette behind the sickly monsters all leering at me. Shakily, I feel around for the pipe. Finding nothing, I look down only to find silver dust sliding through my fingers bringing blood to the surface. Gaping, I look back towards the light to find _**IT**_ walking towards me. I panic, crab-walking backwards with each step _**IT**_took. I back into something hard and cold, I search to my left, my right to find the horrendous things in a half-circle around me. I'm trapped! They part like water for _**IT**'**S**_approach. In my mind I wish I could go through walls so that I may get away. _**IT'S **_hand reaches towards my face, grasping it with claws piercing my chin. _**IT**_squeezes my jaw; blood dribbles down and falls to my pants, staining them with red splatters._ **IT'S**_face draws near to mine, __**"**__**Cause we..."**_**IT**_breathes, __**"**__**Hunt you down without mercy. Hunt you down all nightmare long."**_

_Sweat beads my forehead and I lean my head back, but _**IT**_follows. __**"**__**Feel us breathe upon your face. Feel us shift, every move we trace."**_

_My skull collides with brick behind me with a crack. My arms supporting me are shaking so badly that I think they will give way._

"_**Hunt you down without mercy. Hunt you down all nightmare long."**_

_The grip on my jawbone slides almost caringly to my neck. _

"_**Luck."**_

**IT**_ tightens _**IT'S**_hand on my neck._

"_**Runs."**_

**IT**_drags me to my feet in a suffocating chokehold. _

"_**Out."**_

**IT**_holds me out at a distance, high enough that my feet dangle while my lungs are ready to burst. _

"_**You crawl back in, but your luck runs out." **__I am tossed into another wall harshly and my spine snaps. I can't move. _

"_**Then you crawl back in." **_**IT**_speaks with each step_

"_**Into your obsession."**__I see a flash of green and red. _

"_**Never to return.**__**"**_

_Is it… _

"_**This is your confession."**_

_I gasp. _

"_**Hunt you down without mercy."**_

_The repulsive beings join in the chant with mangled voices, edging closer. __**"Hunt you down all nightmare long." **__I struggle to move, but only scream in pain. My spine was stabbing the muscle tissue in my back._

"_**Feel us breathe upon your face."**_

_I can't let it end like this! Not like this!__**"Feel us shift, every move we trace."**__The chanting becomes louder and louder as the swarm moves closer__**. **_

"_**Hunt you down without mercy."**__Tears prick my eyes in fear and pain. I have to move! _

"_**Hunt you down all nightmare long!"**__The ugly things hover above me, their chanting almost a scream now. _**IT**_kneels beside me and all I can do is look up at _**IT**_. _

"_**Luck. Runs. Out."**_

_A light reflects off _**IT'S**_face and I stare in horror. __**"**__**You crawl back in, but your luck runs out."**_

_No… No! It can't be! It can't be true! _**IT** _smiles maniacally down at me in sadistic glee. _**IT'S**_ hand rises up before swinging down with claws spread. __**"**__**Your luck runs out."**__ The hand swipes at me and everything's black._

"AAAAAUUUGH!!!"

I sit up in a cold sweat screaming my lungs out. Panting, I look around the darkness, my mind hazy. What happened? A creak comes from the corner of the blackness followed by glowing yellow eyes. A bright light blinds for a few moments as my eyes adjust and I see a blurry purple and grey figure in the corner glaring at me.

"AAAUUUUGGH!!!"

I jump and fall from my perch and into…. a cushy carpet?

"Dib.", growled the figure.

I sit up and stumble for my glasses that fallen to the floor with me in my skittish descent. Finding them in a bundle of smudged blue, I awkwardly place them on my face and glance warily over towards the direction of the growl. In the doorway stands my irritated sister in her purple and grey pajamas sneering at my disgruntled appearance.

"Dib, this is the hundredth time I've woken up to hear you screaming. I need sleep. And if I don't get sleep I am very cranky. So shut up and quit being a priss and go back to bed."

'You're always cranky.' I think, but there's no way I'll say that aloud. I'm not sure if I should be relieved or even more frightened by the fact that it is only Gaz in my room instead of demons. Then again, I never did think Gaz was truly ever human. I watch her back turn to me as she turns to leave, but she stops.

"Oh, and Dib…"

"Yeah?" My voice is shaky as I respond.

"… Next time you wake me up…" She turns her head towards me, an evil look in her eyes. " You will wish I had never been born." With that she slams the door shut. I sigh in relief, and look at the blue glow of my clock. It read 5:37, "Well, I might as well get ready for school." I did not want to go back to sleep again. I knew what lay within my dreams, no, nightmares to come. Demons rise and **IT **preys on my fear. They hunt me all nightmare long and have done so a hundred nightmares before.


	2. School Daze

**A/N: Okay, I know this is only the first **_**real **_**chapter, but I'm changing the genre from humor to horror due to what will occur in later chapters. Despite this change, there will still be humor in this story, but it is just not the main theme. Sorry for the confusion (if there was any.) ^_^;**

**Anyways, here is chapter one… **

**---**

Chapter One: School Daze

The bright morning sun was blinding as Dib walked to school alongside Gaz. Small beeping sounds followed by overdramatic screams came from the handheld as his sister rapidly pushed buttons. How she was able to watch the screen and not run into things was a mystery to Dib, but he never asked. He learned to keep quite when she was playing the higher levels. They memories of the bruises made him flinch.

Dib turned away from Gazto observethe people around them. Many people were driving to work or returning, depending on if they had the Grave Shift, with tired faces. A teenage girl passed them in a hot pink corvette, that she obviously painted herself, while talking animatedly on her cell phone. The girl ran a red light and nearly missed an old lady that was crossing the street. Surprisingly, said lady shook her cane at the speeding car, screeching at the top of her lungs curses that would make a sailor blush.

Dib cocked an eyebrow, but looked away bemused. He looked down a few blocks to a vendor that was selling hotdogs. Why was the man selling hotdogs at 6 o'clock in the morning? Dib wasn't sure. Whatever the reason, he was attempting to bargain a passerby into buying a molding wiener, but the passerby argued that he would not buy it if it did not have relish and mustard. With bile rising in his throat, Dib turned away disgusted before swallowing back down his breakfast.

'Absolutely disgusting.'

Looking around, he witnessed similar antics amongst the others. Shaking his head, he simply stared at the sidewalk for the remainder of the stroll until they made it to the school steps. He shoved his way through the crowded hallways, getting slammed into every other locker and pushed face first into someone's sweaty armpit before reaching homeroom. Dib didn't make it to his desk before he encountered a familiar greeting.

"Hello, Dib-monster."

Dib flinched unnoticeably as he faced the voice. "Hello, Zim."

Sitting at his desk, feet propped up and arms crossed, the green alien looked smugly at the paranormalist with a cocky smile. Zim had grown over the years, a full 5' 9"to be exact. The Irken had tinkered with his pak last summer when he noticed the other children were experiencing growth spurts. When he learned of puberty in Health class, Zim panicked as he thought this would jeopardize his mission and ran to his base immediately, which resulted in detention. It was well worth it in Zim's opinion.

Dib had grown as well, to 5' 11" (6' 3" if you count his hair) and he made sure Zim knew it every time he could. Since he outgrew his old trench coat, he bought a new one, one with more pockets to stash weapons to use against Zim. He even hide a knife in his boots, he could never be too sure.

"So Dib-thing, are you ready for today's lesson of stupidity-induced boredom?" Zim asked, still smiling.

"What are you up to now, Zim?" Dib asked, fighting down a yawn.

"What makes you assume that I am planning something? Can't a normal human worm-baby ask a fellow class-mate if they are prepared for the day?" He said loudly to emphasize to the incoming students that was _indeed _human. Dib gave Zim a 'definitely-not' look, "Not when it's coming from you."

The teacher, Mrs. Buttersworth, walked in with a smile that almost split her face. "Hello, class! Today is a BEAUTIFUL DAY, Isn't it? Dib, return to you seat please. You may talk to your friend later."

He turned, mumbling something along the lines of, "…stupid alien……and his weasel-launching…. salami unicycle….NOT my friend…" as he sat down.

The teacher began discussing Shakespearian literature and how WONDERFUL it was, but Dib barely listened. He was tired and images of his nightmare kept flashing in his mind. He yawned then stretched to try to wake up his tired muscles. Looking around the room, he observed the other students. Zita was giggling with The Letter M as he flirted with her; Melvin was trying to hide from Torque while said bully was shoving Melvin's face into the table. Keef was doodling a variety of drawings involving himself, Zim, and a squirrel whilst everyone else was talking loud enough for the kids in the underground classroom to hear. Why did the class have to be so annoying? Why did these kids have to be in the same class with him year after year? Sighing, he crossed his arms on his desk and laid his head down. 'I'll just lay my head down for a moment. ……Just for…a……..moment…' His lids slide shut as he drifted off into sleep.

Zim stared at Dib. And stared… and stared… and stared. He kept this up longer than his short attention span should allow before he growled. He ripped a piece of paper out of his, what was it, notebook thing and balled it up then tossed it across the room at Dib's gargantuan head. Nothing. He grabbed another one and tossed that too. Still nothing. Frustrated, Zim turned to the boy behind him, stole his entire notebook, ripped out half of the pages, and threw the rest of the book at the boy's face. He then continued balling up paper and throwing them so fast he began wind milling them. A surprise no one, but the bruised boy with the book lodged in his face noticed.

Even as Zim threw the last paper wad, Dib never stirred. Looking away from the sleeping human, Zim scowled at his desk.

'Stupid Dib-human! He is supposed to be glaring at me and spouting random babbling words of babble, NOT IGNORING ZIM! NO ONE IGNORES THE ALMIGHTY ZIIIIIIIM!'

He looked up from his desk to the boy once more as he contemplated.

'Why is he sleeping anyways? It is not night, the time of human sleep. Or is it? …No. No it's not. So he should be awake now, yes?' He remembered Dib's state as he walked in this morning. The boy had dark rings around his eyes, reminding Zim of a raccoon-beast, and drooping eyelids. Instead of his normal neat and slicked back scythe-lock, his hair was wild and unkempt. His appearance resembled when they would fight each other all night without rest. Did Dib-thing get into a fight? If so, with whom? Zim's eyes shot open as he realized something.

'If Dib was fighting someone other than me… that means… '

"ZIM HAS COMPETITION!"

"Zim! Get off your desk and be quite." Zim looked down to see that he was indeed standing on his desk. He had jumped up there subconsciously in his moment of realization.

Jumping down, Zim sat in his chair, glaring as he made a plan to find this opposition and get rid of it.

'Zim was Dib-stink's enemy first!'

_---_

_Dib lifted his head from his arms only to jump and fall to the floor._

_The students around him had morphed into hideous black creatures with purple protuberances; they were all leering at him with yellow eyes. His eyes shifted around the room looking for someone, he didn't care who, but anyone who hasn't mutated. _

_'Zim!' _

_Dib stood up and searched for any green in the classroom. If Zim was here then maybe… maybe there was hope that he could get out of there!_

_He began to panic as he took notice that no green alien was in the room. _

_"Zim!" _

_Dammit! Where was that little alien when you need him?! _

_The students stood as a hole tore through their (or what seemed to be) faces and sharp teeth extended from the newly formed mouths. They all grinned at him with sadistic glee; they strode closer to Dib, reaching out with mangled claws. He stumbled back, but they had surrounded him from all sides. The creatures closed in on him and cackled with delight. But before his vision darkened, Dib saw a dark silhouette sitting at Zim's seat, __**IT'S **__legs crossed and hands cupped, laughing maniacally. _

---

RIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGG!!

Dib jolted awake. His eyes darted around the room before he slumped back in his seat with relief and exhaustion. Everything was okay. The students were human again. There was no shadow. Zim was staring at him questioningly. ......Wait.

"What, Zim?" He stood up to hover over Zim.

Zim would've raised an eyebrow if he had any, at Dib's odd behavior. As the boy was sleeping, Zim took notice that he began to twitch faintly, as if he was subconsciously trying to move and with his advanced Irken hearing he heard mumbling. Incoherent, but he had definitely mumbled something. These abnormal antics needed to be looked into.

"Well, Dib-weasel. While your insistent twitching as you slumbered was entertaining, if not somewhat disturbing, I believe the class of dirt-children has left."

"Ah…" Grabbing his bag, Dib began walking towards the door awkwardly. He was not aware that class was over. Even the teacher left for her planning period. "…So they have."

Zim smiled. Running past Dib and out the door, he slammed it on Dib's face and took out his laser from his pak and melted the door knob. "MWAHAHAHAHA! NOW YOU SHALL BE LATE FOR CLASS, DIB-RACCOON!" He cackled as Dib attempted to turn the handle.

"OUCH! FUCK, IT'S HOT!"

Cackling, Zim ran to his next class with Dib cursing him all the while. "DAMMIT, ZIM! OPEN THIS DOOR!"

Swearing under his breath, Dib pulled out his knife from his boot and then proceeded to remove the bolts from the door hinge. Just as the door began to fall, he heard Mrs. Buttersworth outside. "I can't beleive I forgot my-What happened to door knob?!"

Gasping, Dib's eyes went wide. "Oh shit!"

He reached for the door to prevent its decent, but it slipped. "Aaauuuggghhh!!" The door collapsed and fell on the teacher.

Dib winced and closed his eyes."Ooops…" Opening one eye, Dib warily stepped over the door and into the hallway before darting as fast as he could to class all the while thinking. 'Since when am I a raccoon?'

---

**So how was it? Can you guess who the shadow is? I doubt you can. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! *lighting cracks behind* Huh? WTF? Well, anyways, I put the raccoon-thing at the end to see if you paid attention. Did you? By the way I have posted a poll on a new idea I have for an Invader Zim fic, so please go vote. Later, my cat stole my fortune cookie. *chases after him* HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!**


	3. Less than Human

**A/N: Hey again! Sorry for not updating in a while. This chapter has a little discovery in it and a bit of angst, just a head's up for those of you who don't like depression stories. **

---

**Chapter Two: Less than Human **

Dib walked home sulking. Hands in his pockets, he cursed Zim with every fiber of his being.

"Stupid green alien bastard, making me late. I got a fucking detention because of him." Kicking a rock ahead of him, he continued to glare at the sidewalk.

"What's your problem? You two get detentions all the time, how is this any different?" Dib looked at Gaz, almost surprised that she spoke up at all.

Frustrated, he said, "My _problem _is that he does this just to piss me off. Those other times were because we were fighting. Now, it's just…" He let the sentence trail off. Annoyed, Gaz replied. "Then don't let it piss you off if that's what he wants. Geez, you're so stupid." She went back to her game as Dib thought about what she said.

They arrived home, both going their separate ways. Gaz placed herself on the couch while Dib went to his room. Throwing his bag on his bed, he sat in front of his computer and went to turn on the monitor he installed in Zim's base, but stopped. He absent-mindedly stared at the mouse before deciding that he was in no mood to spy on Zim today.

Standing he strolled back downstairs, Dib walked into the kitchen to a keypad by the kitchen counter. Flipping open the latch with practiced ease, he tapped in the security code. The pad lit up in a blue color and stated, "Password Confirmed". The door swung open to an elevator. Dib stepped in and hit the **"L" **button and the elevator shifted a bit before going down. Three minutes later the doors opened to a blue-tinted laboratory.

Professor Membrane had installed a lab underneath the house a few years back when Dib had briefly decided to go into "Real Science" to impress him. Despite that he no longer used the lab for what his father expected him to; it was too much of a hassle to remove, so it stayed, but not without a few upgrades via Dib. Dib walked to his huge monitor and sat before typing onto the holographic keyboard.

Unbeknownst to Membrane, Dib has been discreetly hacking into his father's files from his lab at Membrane Empire Inc. Dib has been using some of the information in the files on some experiments to counteract with Zim's plans or in his paranormal studies. Surprisingly enough, the recent sightings of werewolves were the fault of an attempt to genetically fuse qualities of wolves, such as their keen senses, into human test subjects. However, the experiment had unpredictable side effects, causing the human to grow abnormal amounts of fur, wolf-like features and instincts. The subject has escaped into the woods to live out his life as a wolf, unknowing that he was once human. This failure was ignored and simply swept under the rug.

Dib continued searching at random for anything of interest when he discovered a locked file hidden in the bowels of the lab's Experiment Folder. Curiosity peaked; Dib smirked at the challenge and began to hack into the file, zipping through firewalls and security codes. One hour later, the file was unlocked and opened for Dib to view, but what he saw shocked and horrified him.

"Wh-what?!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cliff Hanger-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, in red-lit lab an Invader paced. Glaring at the floor, Zim walked back and forth, wearing a hole into the ground. Above, distinct sounds of high-pitched laughter and talk of 'pudding ducks addicted to maple syrup that needed rehab' echoed from the elevator tubes.

"Grrrrrr… GIR!! ENOUGH WITH NOISE MAKING!!!" It was quite for a while before the giggles started up again.

"RAAAAHHHH!!!"Throwing his hands up, Zim stomped towards the elevator, but was stopped by the computer.

"Why are you so riled up today?"

Glaring upwards, Zim yelled, "It's that Dib-human! Him and his… CONFUSING WAYS!! He didn't act like he should today! He was just so… so… I don't know…. like one of those zombie-monsters! And-"

"How is the Dib supposed to act?" Inquired the computer blandly.

"The Dib is _supposed _to planning against me! To taunt the almighty Zim with stopping him from taking over this filth-ball planet! He's-" Zim stopped. Pursing his lips, he thought back to that morning. "What if… what if Dib-stink really did find a new enemy? Or what if he is plotting against me and is using this weakness as a façade? Maybe he wants me to think he has a new nemesis to throw me off guard!"

Growling, Zim marched to his chair and typed furiously. "Well, if the Dib-human does have a new enemy, I will merely have to find this opponent and annihilate him. But first, Zim needs to see if this is true. HAHAHA! You can't fool this Irken Invader, Dib!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Back to Dib--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dib stared in horror at the file on the screen. His heart rate quickened and his eyes widened.

The top of the document read in big bold letters: **"Project D.I.B.: Cloning Experiment"** Shakily, he scrolled down and continued to read. It was like a train wreck, it was terrifying, but you can't look away.

_"Day One; June 7th: Today we have began testing on a human cloning project called D.I.B. The government does not agree with this as "we have yet to have a full understanding of the cloning procedure, let alone on humans" Bah! That is what experiments are for! To test what we do not know. They continue to complain about "human morale" and how "this is inhumane". Well, they won't feel that way after the test is complete! _

_Though I have taken it upon myself to be the "father", we still need to find a female for the embryo to fertilize in."_

_"Day Forty-Three; July 19th: All of the equipment is set up and we have finally acquired a female specimen called Karin. She has black hair and amber eyes and seems to be a scientist of the paranormal persuasion. A little too odd for my tastes, but we are running on a schedule, so__ she will have to do."_

_"Day Fifty-Seven; August 2nd: The embryo has been removed and altered to be of my likeness, along with a few other alterations. It shall be the perfect intelligent child of Professor Membrane and the successor of Membrane Empire Inc. He shall prove to the world that none should doubt the might of science!_

_But Karin is a very resilient female. She is very much opposed to this experiment and will not allow us near her. As amusing as this was for the first few days, now it is only a hindrance. If she does not submit soon, we will have to use force to get her abide. She has until the end of the month."_

_"Day Eighty-Six; August 31st: The persistent female has finally been subdued. She would not willingly submit, so we were forced to drug her food. The procedure has at last begun and the embryo has been settled into the uterus. The fertilization process should begin soon."_

_"Day 151; November 4th: The child appears to be developing well, but the female is experiencing her __emotional state between periods of euphoria and depression__ or "mood swings" and morning sickness. She at times will even attempt to talk to the unborn infant, odd female. This is becoming more of a hassle than it should be."_

_"Day 260; February 21st: The female is now six months into pregnancy, but it is becoming harder to inspect the growing child. She is developing protectiveness of the unborn child. This is developing into a big problem." _

_"Day 311; April 13st: The female's water broke and we began extracting the infant. After five hours of labor, we have finally removed the child from the female and as far as we can tell it was a success, despite the child's large head. But the female is now in a rage and is screaming for "her child, Dib" angry that we created a being that was "less than human". Silly female, the child belongs to me. We only need her until the child no longer needs to breast-feed, then we can get rid of her."_

From there little notes of "more like the female than of me" and "too interested in para-science" and "useless to Membrane Empire Inc." popped up here and there. A mention of "adopting another child may do the boy some good in his influence to 'real-science'" also appeared. They even mentioned the "termination" of the female, Karin after she was no longer needed. The last log in the document was marked in red at the bottom: "**EXACT CLONING EXPERIMENT: FAILURE**".

Sitting back in the chair, Dib stared in shock at the screen. No longer seeing, too many thoughts flew threw his mind to process. He sat there for hours, too stunned to move before it all painfully crashed down on him. Tears angrily rose to his eyes; he rose and with a shout threw his chair into the wall. He stomped to his experiment table and furiously knocked over everything in rage. Screaming, he punched and slammed all in sight until the entire lab lay in ruins. Sparks from the computers flew across the room and shattered glass stained in blood was strewn throughout the lab. Pulled wires dangled everywhere and his file cabinet containing everything paranormal from A to Z, including Zim was in disarray.

Dib couldn't care less that his lab was in disrepair right now. He was in too much pain. Ignoring his bleeding hands; he went back to the elevator and up to his room. Grabbing a blanket, he opened the window and climbed the gutter to the roof. Dib laid down, covered in his blanket and star gazed, sobbing all the while until he fell asleep.

---

**A/N: Alright, there's your update. I've been sick lately so if there's any misspellings or such then that's partly because of my cold. Hope I got the emotion needed in Dib's outrage captured. Later guys.**


	4. Snap, Crackle, Pop

**What's up? Wow, can't believe how busy I've gotten since my last update. Then my computer…. Let's just say I lost 23 hours of access since February… My birthday is coming up so I may be gone some more, but as a gift to you all for waiting for so long** **here is a longer chapter! YEAH! *confetti***

**Well enough with this ramble, on to the story!!! DA DADA DA!!! **

**Chapter Three: Snap, Crackle, Pop**

Light filtered through Dib's eyelids, making the insides look red, thus waking the tired boy. His eyes fluttered open only to shut once more at the blinding light. Trying again, Dib managed to get his bleary eyes open and looked around. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed at his sore eyes. He knew he should've taken off his glasses first. It hurts to sleep with them on.

Sitting up, he looked around without registering where he was before stood up and stretched. Only to lose his balance and felt a something snag on his foot followed by a strong falling sensation. He tried to right his footing, but his right foot couldn't find any ground. Dib's eyes widened and out of reflex he grabbed the closest thing to him which happened to be a pole of some kind. Feeling the metal, Dib pulled himself up until he felt ground underneath him once more.

Panting and trying to calm his racing heart, he looked back towards where he almost fell only to jump back in shock.

He was looking at the ground two stories below him. He saw the fence of his neighbors' yard and found their mangy looking dog staring at him.

'Creepy.'

Dib then looked at the pole still in his hand and saw that it was their TV antenna. "But that's on the-" He looked down at the blanket that had caught his foot then at the- "…roof."

Fully awake, Dib smacked his forehead with his palm in a "Duh" like fashion. "I forgot. I fell asleep on the roof after-"

Images of the hidden file flashed hauntingly through his mind.

"…_began testing on a human cloning project called D.I.B."_

"…_shall be the perfect intelligent child of Professor Membrane…"_

"_She is very much opposed to this experiment… is only a hindrance."_

"…'_her child, Dib'… was 'less than human'…"_

"…_more like the female than of me"_

"…_too interested in para-science" _

"…_useless to Membrane Empire Inc." _

" …_influence to 'real-science'…"_

"_EXACT CLONING EXPERIMENT: FAILURE"_

"_Failure"_

Staring, Dib's grip tightened around the pole to white-knuckle point as anguish filled him again. He narrowed his eyes.

Then, something in Dib broke.

SNAP!

Dib grabbed his blanket and walked back to his window, unknowing that behind him he left a broken television antenna.

* * *

Zim leered down at his new experiment with uncontained glee. He lifted it up closer to his face and his manic grin was reflected in its purple metal.

"Finally! With this, I will find out Dib's Scheme for me and see through his deceitfulness!"

The alien began to laugh maniacally but a voice interrupted him.

"Mastah?"

Glaring at the intrusion, Zim snapped at the voice.

"What, Gir?!"

The little robot looked around like he was looking for something before he stared up at his master with glowing blue eyes before he giggled insanely.

"You not mastah! You's a bear! Silly."

Zim glared at Gir who didn't notice as he looked around the lab.

"Have you seen mah mastah? He's greeeeen and gots pink eyeees and likes ta yell alooooot and wears piiiiink and has gots a thingy on his baaaaack and he likes potatooooooes and-"

"Gir! I'm right here!!" Zim spread out his arms in a 'here-I-am' motion. "I'm just in a bear suit!"

Then he glared harder at the robot. "And I _don't_ like potatoes."

Gir looked back at Zim as Zim took the bear suit's hood off and the robot jumped in horror.

"MASTAH! THE BEAR ATED YOU!" His head darted around before he looked back and waved his hands in a 'stay-here' motion. "DON'T WORRY! I'LL SAVE YOU!!"

Gir ran into a corner filled with scrap metal and began to throw them at Zim in an attempt to 'save' him from the bear suit. "TAKE THIS YOU MEANIE FACE BEAR!!"

Zim put his arms in front of himself to block off the flying metal and chickens. Gir ran out of metal to throw so he began tossing Zim's experiment chickens. "GIR!! KNOCK IT OFF!! OW!" One particular vengeful chicken was trying to peck his eye out.

Backing into a button to get away from the attack, Zim didn't hear the 'bzzt' sound as the screen behind him flickered on. The screen read "Hold Please…" then an annoyed grunt was heard as it switched to a red background.

Gir continued to hurl chickens at Zim all the while screaming something about 'evil bears' and 'rescuing his mastah from the bowels filled with picnic baskets'.

No one heard the sniggering as Zim yelled profanities before grabbing his new device and ran to his elevator to go to school followed by Gir with a confused chicken.

A sound of laughter and chortles resounding in the lab from the screen as two tall Irkens, one in red and the other in purple, were clinging to each other for support.

"Man, hehe… that was funny." Purple said as he held his waist.

Red too held his waist as he tried to regain his breath. "Ha hehehee, ah I thought my squeedleyspooch was going to explode." He found his breath once more and straightened up as well as he could and looked over his shoulder to the giggling crew. "Tell me someone recorded that!"

* * *

Why is everything so irritating? Gaz stared at her game screen, watching as she blew up another vampire pig. Students were talking loudly as they ignored their freakishly peppy teacher's lesson.

Gaz pushed the buttons harder with each passing minute. Everything was annoyingly putting her on edge. Every annoying word from both teacher and classmates. Every movement made from the kids. Every sound made by their movements. Every sharp inhale at juicy gossip. Every single breath taken. It was all so very annoying.

Despite her irritation, nothing was displayed on her face. Luckily she had her game with her or else she'd snap and probably slaughter this half of the school. She was only able to keep said game because when asked to confiscate it a single glare halted all attempts to take it.

Gaz didn't really have a _real_ reason to be irritated. Nothing particularly set her off to be this way, but for some reason she was in a bad mood. While she did hate everyone, normally she was able to shut them out.

Something was off about today. It seemed that whatever was creating this tension was just the buildup of something worse.

"Hn." Looking up at the clock with a squinted eye, Gaz impatiently waited for the bell to ring. She glanced back to her game as she reflected on this morning. Oddly enough this 'irritation' began when Dib came down from his room. He had seemed very upset at something. The mornings (and the rest of the day actually) usually consisted of her brother's annoying voice as he ranted on and on about his next plan to reveal Zim 'as the alien he is' to the world. But today he was very quiet aside from his angered grunts as he ate his morning toast and almost breaking the toaster's lever after slamming it.

Gaz glared at the game as it read 'GAME OVER'. Damn, Dib's PMSing made her lose the game.

"He's gonna pay."

* * *

'Move faster, dammit!'

The clock's minute hand was moving too damn slow. No matter how hard he glared at it, it just wouldn't move any faster.

Dib's fingers thumped at the desk in heightening irritation. He didn't know why exactly, but everything was just pushing him closer to the edge. He's noticed that every day since his first nightmare he becomes more and more frustrated being around people, Gaz and Zim the exceptions. He was already frustrated around them. But with each passing day more… unsavory thoughts will come up without warning, thoughts that differ from his usual annoyed ones. These ones are more vengeful and disturbing.

The chatting voices of his peers seemed to grow louder and louder with each passing second. Everyone seemed to be sharpening pencils or crackling paper at the same time. Dib could feel a migraine forming in his temples. He began to rub at them in small circles in hopes to get it to go away. But it seemed to only make it worse. It felt like his brain was going to explode.

'_Maybe if I slit their throats they'll shut up.'_

His eyes snapped open. There it was. That voice. It didn't sound any different from his own, but… it seemed more feral, angrier.

He gripped his head as the voice spoke more.

'_These morons deserve to die.'_

'No. Don't think like that, Dib. I'm supposed to-'

'_Be saving these people? What for?'_

'Because this is my home! I can't just let it be destroyed! I can't let these people die!'

'_You and I both know that isn't the reason. You want respect. You want to be recognized as someone great. Someone that is more intelligent than the idiots around you.'_

'No that's not-'

'_It is, you just deny it. You cover you're reasons with this "noble" heroism. You want to be looked upon like a hero.'_

'Well, yeah. I want to be a hero, but-'

'_But you're not. Not to them. They don't care. They care about their own lives too much to believe that something can suddenly end it all. Why not prove them wrong?'_

'No! I-'

'_Come on, this planet is begging to be destroyed. You said so yourself once.'_

The chatter continued to grow louder as did the voice. Dib gripped his hair tightly as his migraine grew, his face contorted in pain. The room flashed again like it did yesterday in his dream then flashed to normal. It continued to do so and each time it lasted longer than the time before. The room grew louder until it sounded like a room full of banshees and hyenas. The voice continued goading Dib as the room flashed again, just like-

'The Nightmare World.'

'_Diiiiiib.' _It sang in a sing-song voice. The class was so loud that it meshed into a roar in his ears. He couldn't think properly, it suffocated him.

"SHUT UP!!!"

The class was quiet as they stared at a pain-racked Dib who glared at the class with such a fierce look that they actually felt fear under his intense scrutiny.

Luckily for them the bell rang right then and they ran out of the class in a rush to leave the tense room.

With an exhausted release of breath, Dib grabbed his bag and left the room still feeling just as irritated. He stormed the hallways until he made it to the front doors, but a large bulky figure stood in his way to freedom.

"Hello, Dib." Torque towered over Dib even though he was two inches shorter than him, his bulk made up for his height.

The glare of Dib's glasses covered his eyes so Torque didn't see his glare. His fists clenched painfully as his head throbbed in pain.

Grabbing each hand, Torque popped his knuckles in a threatening manner while a grin creeped across his face, "Trying to leave without saying good-bye? Oh, I know! How about I take your money as collateral?"

Dib didn't notice the small crowd forming as he spoke threateningly to Torque. "Move, Torque. I am in absolutely no mood to put up with your need to inflate your ego."

Torque and the crowd appeared surprised, but Torque recovered. "Braver than usual, are we Dib? You've got guts, I'll give you that. But I'm still gonna take your money." He moved to grab Dib when he felt a fist hit his stomach hard and he doubled over. He didn't have time to react as another arm elbowed him in the face, throwing his head back, disoriented him. A sharp chop to his Adam's apple cut off his air for a few moments, but a powerful kick to the stomach sent him almost flying out the school doors and down the stairs until his face collided with the concrete.

He slowly lifted his bleeding and bruised face up at Dib's towering figure over him. With a glare, Dib kneeled in front of Torque and spoke darkly. "Next time I say move, I suggest you move." Standing up, Dib shifted his back pack then stepped over the quivering body and left the school grounds.

* * *

The crowd still at the school doors gawked in awe and fear at how easily the "crazy kid" had pummeled the school bully, though as they filed out, the shock faded some. They all figured that it was a onetime thing. He is only the "crazy kid" after all. All but one left to go home.

Zim stared at where Dib had last stood. He looked back at where he had pulled the first punch.

(FLASHBACK)

"_Annoying filth-beasts. MOVE IT! Why are the all staring at me? OUT OF MY WAY, PIG CHILDREN!!"_

_Zim left his boring math class shoving people out of the way. Really, why were there so many humans in one building? He noticed a group of kids surrounding the door way, but not leaving. _

'What now? Did these morons forget how to open a door?'

_He was about to yell, when he noticed a familiar raven scythe-lock above the crowd. Pushing through the crowd, Zim saw Torque blocking the Dib-thing's way. "Trying to leave without saying good-bye? Oh, I know! How about I take your money as collateral?"_

_Zim looked back at Dib, eagerly awaiting his pounding from the bully with a sadistic smile, but then he saw something odd. Dib had not moved from the spot. He hadn't backed into a corner like expected, he just stood there. His face was tilted in a way that no one could see his eyes from behind the glare of his glasses. His posture was stiff, but empowered and his hands clenched hard enough that his nailed slightly pierced his skin, drawing a speck of blood. _

"_Move, Torque. I am in absolutely no mood to put up with your need to inflate your ego." _

_His voice was dark as he growled at Torque. Something was definitely off. Something happened to Dib to make him so…….. intimidating. It was…… exciting to watch him act this way._

"_Braver than usual, are we Dib? You've got guts, I'll give you that. But I'm still gonna take your money." _

_What happened next was astonishing as Dib moved in a flash, beating down the boy as his body made all sorts of disgusting popping sounds before power-kicking him out the door and down the steps._

_Running to the door to see what would happen next, Zim overheard Dib speaking quietly to the downed boy with an odd shiver. "Next time I say move, I suggest you move."_

(END FLASHBACK)

Zim looked back to where Dib walked off and an evil smile grew. '_I think I like this new Dib. This is going to be fun.' _Zim walked home chuckling to himself, squeaking all the way in his bear suit.

**A/N: That bear suit was probably a mood killer in the end, huh? Hey, did you catch the title theme? I'll give you a cookie to whoever did. This weekend is going to be busy. Tomorrow my friend's dad is getting married and Sunday I turn 18. Scary. Oh well, happy birthday to me! Bye guys!**


	5. Blackouts and Bloody Carpets

**A/N: Before I get started, I would like to apologize for the lack of updating in several months. I had a lot of stuff to do since I last updated, including visiting my neurologist and finding a college and tra la la. I had also been gone for the past month in Texas. My great grandmother died of a lung infection so we drove down to Arkansas (took three days) and though we missed the funeral, we went to visit her grave. We then visited relatives in Texas we hadn't seen in almost five years and I only got back this week. I also just got back from the neurologist the other day to take a look at my MRI. I now need to consult a neurosurgeon to see whether or not I should need surgery. **

**Next, this is going to be rather annoying as I am going to go into a bit of a rant here, but I recently got a review that irked me. I assume that the fore-mentioned reviewer shall know of what I speak unless they skipped over this part.**

**While I appreciate that you enjoy my story, I **_**do not**_** appreciate that I am being flamed to hurry along. I am even less thrilled that I am being demanded to get my "priorities straightened". I am sorry, but I do have a life outside of my computer and it comes before my stories. I do believe that I had mentioned, whether it was in the prologue or within my profile page (that you more than likely have not looked at) that my stories will not be updated regularly. I am busy with bigger issues than "when I am going to update" and I do not need this sort of input. And honestly, if you need a "fix" from completely bullshit fan-fictions, then maybe you need to get off the computer and find yourself a new hobby.**

**Sorry for those of you that are frankly only here for the story and not my ranting tirade, I apologize once more. However, I would like to put that if anyone sends any more flames or demands that I update sooner, the message will be immediately deleted with no response and I shall be very **_**tempted**_** to retaliate by not posting for even longer. **

**Now, enough with this. On to the chapter! Tally-ho! **

**Disclaimer: The brilliance that is Invader Zim belongs to no one other than Jhonen Vasquez. **

"_IT Speaking"_

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

'_Flashback'_

**Chapter Four: Blackouts and Bloody Carpets**

Dib stormed the streets to his house ignoring the wandering eyes that traveled his way. He was a jumble of all sorts of emotions but the ones that stood out the most were the obvious anger and awe. He could not believe what he did to Torque back at the school. What was he _thinking_? Beating up the school's bully like that, he was going to get it tomor-

Dib froze in his steps at that thought. "Wait. Rewind." He _beat up_ the school bully? How the Hell did that happen? How was that even possible? Sure. He's gotten more physically fit since he started chasing Zim, and sure he's learned new fighting skills from their battles and could easily keep up with him. But… Torque? How was he possibly able to beat up_ Torque_ of all people? There was no possible way that-

"_You never attempted to before."_

There was that voice again.

'What does that have to do with any-'

"_You have never willingly tried to defend yourself before against anyone other than Zim. You never had the confidecne to. So how would you know that you could not take down Torque if you have never tried?"_

'I never had a reason to harm anyo-'

"_You've had every reason to. In fact, you haven't had a reason __**not **__to."_

'What do you mean by-'

"_How many times in your life have you been beaten, abused, smacked around, humiliated, or disrespected? Or better yet, can even you think of **one** time when you __**haven't**__?" _

Dib was reeled back by that question. He paused before he answered again.

'You have a thing with interrupting, don-'

"_Yes. Now quit skimming around the question."_

Scowling, Dib began to think about it.

He thought back to every day that he came into class with proof of Zim being the alien he was. Even before Zim he was mocked, laughed at for his findings. Things were thrown at him when he tried to explain; there were days that he was beaten, kicked around, given wedgies and bullied. So many times he was sent to the Crazy House for Boys, so many times he was sent to councilor after councilor, therapist after therapist for psychiatric help. Time after time, he had been tempted, so very tempted, to just let them fall prey to Zim's schemes.

Dib narrowed his eyes.

He remembered very well that day so many years ago that Zim had sent him and their classmates into a wormhole in space to face the room with a moose. He had mapped out the course on his computer and found a fork in the wormhole; the left led to the room with a moose, and the right went back to Earth. But he was conflicted.

_"Okay, Dib. Before you really try to figure a way out of this, think of what that would mean. On one hand, you'd be saving yourself. On the other hand, you'd also be saving _**them**_." The word "them" was spat out with such distaste one would think the word itself was rotten. He glared back at the left side of the bus to where the children sat. "Look," The blonde girl yelled mockingly. "He's talking to himself again!" Mortified, he spun around in the seat and yelled back, "You guys are just _**begging**_ to face the moose!" He gripped the chair hard enough to rip out the stuffing. Laughter resounded in the bus and Dib frowned in humiliation, sadly sinking back into his seat. 'Why do I bother? They don't care what I am trying to do. They don't even know that I have been trying to save Earth. Why do I even try?' Zim's earlier words came back to him. "My mission might not be as exciting without you around to annoy me, but it will be more… pleasant." _

Somehow by those words, he gained back his confidence and by moving next to the kids, he provoked them to move to the right side, away from Dib. The weight on the right side shifted the bus to steer back to Earth.

Dib smiled sardonically at how he had thought that once they had stepped off that bus he would be praised and cheered for like a hero.

There was no praising or cheering of any sorts once he jumped of the bus. While most of the kids had started home, others had stayed behind a while longer to yell at Dib for ruining their "fieldtrip" as they proceeded to pound him into the sidewalk. He limped back home ten minutes later leaving a thin trail of blood behind.

As time went by, Dib's temptation grew even more as more terrible thoughts towards humans festered.

_"You have been defending them for so long. And what do you get in return?__ They deserve to pay for their mistreatment."_

'I don't know.'

_"They do not want a hero. Nor do they deserve one. Why should you bother trying to save what does not want to be saved, Dib?" _

Dib had yet to notice that he had yet to stop walking. He pondered over that sentence until he bumped into a wall or something. Falling backwards, he landed with an "oomph" into a puddle then rubbed his now wet and sore backside, barely registering the shadow looming over him. He wouldn't have noticed either had not the "wall" yelled gruffly.

"Watch it, you piece of shit!" Looking up, Dib finally saw the group of teenagers in front of him. Wincing at the four males and one girl that stood before him, Dib thought, they looked to have just stepped out of a dumpster. If the ugly stains and residue garbage was anything to go by. The stench they emitted stated as much, that and they were obvious druggies. They seemed to be of some sort of gang or other as they all wore similar colors, black and blue. For some reason, all but one wore a hoodie. The one who didn't, appeared to be the leader and was the one he ran into.

Dib carefully stood up, as if he stood before rabid animals rather than a drug gang. Not taking his eyes of them, he softly apologized and tried to walk around them. An arm shot out in his path, halting his escape. Dib followed the arm up to a scarred face glaring at him. The leader walked behind the member's arm, giving said member a look for him to drop his arm. The leader leaned into Dib's face and roughly grabbed his chin to point it down at their feet.

"Do you see what you did?" At his feet in the puddle he landed in, lay a rather large spilt bag of what Dib assumed was cocaine. He wasn't certain, but he _was_ certain that his earlier assumptions were correct. This was a gang of stoners and he had just pissed them off.

His eyes were jerked back up to the angry face glaring at him. "Do you know what you just did? We worked hard to get that shit and now it's wasted!" The leader shoved Dib back and he barely managed to right himself. "I guess we are just going to have to beat our payment out of you." He pulled out a knife as the others brought out their own weapons and drew in closer to Dib. "Anything to say before you die?"

Dib tried to think of a way to stall. "Yes. Why are you all wearing dark hoodies when it's 80-some-odd degrees out?" They paused in mid-step for a moment to ponder before the girl spoke up. "Why are you wearing a black trench coat?" Dib looked up in wonder and shrugged. "Fair enough." The group nodded then continued forward.

Backing up, Dib's heart pounded in his chest hard enough to bruise as he tried to think of a way out of this, but the closer they came the harder it was to think. They were on top of him when everything went black.

Zim growled as he typed at his keyboard. Gir caused Zim to be so late to school that that day that he missed the classes he had with the Dib and hadn't the chance to use his new device on the insufferable human. Then there was that incident at the end of school.

What had occurred flashed through his mind again before he shook it out. He still could hardly believe that Dib had the gall to start up a fight with the school bully, as one-sided as it was. It wasn't too hard to believe that Dib had the _ability_ after all of the fighting they had gone through over the years, merely that he had done so to what he had fought so hard to protect, a human.

Or maybe he was mistaken in his thinking of Dib's loyalty. But if it wasn't in the humans, then where did it lie? Surely there must be some reason for his annoying persistence in keeping them safe.

A beeping sound woke him from his thoughts as he looked up at the screen in front of him. Just as Dib had installed surveillance cameras in his base, Zim had returned the favor. He had even found out a while back about Dib's new labs and had Gir place one there as well. Zim had not looked at the cameras for a few days when he worked on his new toy, so when he got home he had decided to check up on his enemy only to find him not home. He opened up every video screen scanning every room for the Dib. He opened up the "Dib's Lab" screen only to see static.

"What happened to my camera? Surely the weasel monster hasn't found it yet?" Irritated, Zim growled low in his throat and turned on the "auto-fix" feature he installed in case Dib broke his cameras. Once the camera finished repairing, Zim was stunned to find the lab a huge catastrophic mess. It looked as if the hideous Schploorgian barbarians had come in and ravaged the place. "What in Irk's name happened here?" Luckily, Zim kept the cameras recording just in case he ever left the monitor so he could find some 'dirt' on the human.

Zim opened up the recording from last night and put it on full screen. For a while, nothing happened and Zim almost fast-forwarded until the elevator opened. He watched as Dib stepped out of the elevator and walked to his computer chair. Looking around Dib's lab, Zim had to admit that Dib had fairly impressive labs, for a human that is. His attention was drawn back to the human as Dib started to type something quickly into the computer, but the camera's angle prevented Zim from reading it. He tried to maximize the picture, but all he really got was that Dib was hacking into a highly guarded computer system. Dib started to read the screen then shouted in alarm causing Zim to jump in his seat, not expecting the sudden noise. He quirked his brow at the frantic way Dib read the screen then slumped in his chair once he appeared finished. He stayed that way far too long in Zim's opinion and fast-forward the tape until he flew over a scene that made his eyes almost pop out of their sockets. In utter shock, Zim rewound some and watched as Dib suddenly jumped up with a furious shout then threw his chair at a wall, smashing it to pieces. Zim watched unable to turn away as Dib tore apart his lab in such a rage that caused even the mighty Zim to shiver. At some point, Dib had unknowingly thrown part of a table at the camera, casuing the lense to shatter. The image started to slowly give out, but not before Zim saw something that made his antennae rise in question.

Dib finally stopped his rampage and the look on his face in that moment confused the Irken. The Dib looked so utterly….. human. Zim had no other way to put it, but the boy has never looked so weary and exhausted before. He had always stood so proudly before as if he had no limitations, yet now… He just looked so… "Weak." The word came out more with a sad tone rather than the mocking one he so wanted. Zim watched as the human ignored his profusely bleeding wounds as he walked back into the elevator and the camera finally went out.

Stunned, Zim leaned back with the static reflecting off his eyes, not knowing what to do. What had caused such a violent reaction from the usually calm Dib? He had never, **never**, seen him so furious before. Not even with Torque that afternoon, or even towards Zim. His thoughts were running amuck wildly with seemingly no end to them, but another beeping noise brought his attention to the screen once more.

The "Entryway" screen popped up, alerting him of Dib's arrival. Zim shook himself out of his stupor and opened the window only to gasp, unable to look away from the screen.

Dib slowly opened the door and walked inside the dark house, accidentally knocking over a lamp of his father figure. He was only barely able to shut the door as he fell against it. How he entered the house wasn't what shocked Zim. But the dark dripping liquid that pooled onto the living room carpet did.

Dib was covered head to toe in blood.

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I really wanted to get this chapter out there and I liked how it ended. I'll try not to make it so short next time. Later!**


	6. Terrible News

**A/N: Hey, everyone. I know that in my last update, I had said that I would be removing "Embracing Insanity" from this site, however after much deliberation and convincing from a friend of mine, I have decided to keep it on. Don't bother looking for the Notice because it had been deleted. Nevertheless, if there is any indication that my story is in danger of being deleted, it will indefinitely be removed. It will still be on fictionesque . com under "PsychoBoss", in case any of you were wondering. If it wasn't for my friend keeping me from doing so, this story would have already been removed from FanFiction. I'm not sure if I'm thankful or upset that she did. I suppose we'll just have to see how this goes then. **

**Anyhow, I bet you all are wondering, "What happened to Dib?" "Is he going to die?", well let's see, shall we?**

**Chapter Five: Terrible News**

Dib scrubbed hard at his skin, but he could still feel it there. He could feel the remains of blood on his skin. With his back to the water, shaking, he scrubbed until his skin was raw before he checked again. Nope. He could still feel it.

This was the ninth time this month that he has woken up covered in blood. This was also the ninth time he had been attacked. It started back when he ran into that group of druggies. He didn't remember what happened. All he knew was that before the attack, he blacked out and when he woke up, he found himself on the living room floor covered in blood and sore everywhere. When he woke up he instantly went to cleaning the residue in a panic, unsure of what had happened. He must have been really out of it to be able to walk back home bleeding and not be able to remember it. There was another thing that bothered him. Astonishingly, he found no wounds on his body. Which was impossible considering how much blood he was covered in. All he had was a small bruise on his chest from being shoved and another larger one on his butt from his fall.

Being attacked was normal for Dib, actually nine was a rather low number. What was strange about these attacks was that each time, he blacked out. Though, after the first time, he remembered walking back home, but he couldn't remember what happened at the time of the attack. He didn't even remember waking up from his "black out"; just him walking home. Were all of these attacks finally wearing down on him? Or maybe he was subconsciously fainting to prevent actually enduring the abuse.

What really disturbed him was how after that first night, Zim watched him with suspicion; maybe even…..dare he say it…concern. Which was odd on many levels. When he came back to school the next day, Zim stopped him in the hallway and shoved him into a bathroom and began to inspect him. Checking for…something. As though the alien expected to find something important with the way he lifted Dib's arms, poked and prodded his chest, and thumbed at his face. He looked at his hands, riddled with scars and cuts, but shook his head at it and continued his search. He even tore off Dib's jacket and lifted his shirt in his search. _"Where are they?"_ Zim had mumbled to himself. Pink-faced, Dib had pulled his shirt back down and grabbed up his jacket demanding to know, _"What the hell are you doing, Zim?"_ Zim never answered. All he did was stare at his face then gave Dib one more once-over before he left leaving Dib utterly confused and a bit embarrassed. Since then, Zim had practically stuck to him like his shadow and had became more and more…..intrusive, coincidentally, after every…..attack.

That made Dib pause his abuse on now red his skin. Did Zim somehow know….? But even if he did know, how did he find out? Zim wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the lamp, so he wouldn't usually be right about something unless he had obvious, blunt evidence smack him in the face. Which meant…..

Dib's eyes popped open and he dropped the soapy luffa. Zim somehow at some point _saw_ him. But when? Dib didn't see him at any of the attacks so… Glaring, Dib looked about the room slowly. He turned off the water grabbing a towel as he stepped out. Not seeing what he searched for, he deemed it safe to dry off. He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out into his room relishing as the cool air hit his hot skin.

He observed his room with a scrutinizing eye. A flash drew his attention to a small purple object in the corner of his ceiling. Smirking, Dib casually walked to his drawer and pulled out a small metal sphere, covered with blue lights and one black button in the center. Looking at the object in the ceiling Dib grinned sadistically. "Good morning, Zim." Dib pressed the button.

Gir waddled over to the refrigerator and opened the door. He was going to get something to eat while his master was busy walking in circles around the couch. He looked like he was having fun. Gir had tried to join him earlier but Master told him to eat his tacos and leave Master alone. Apparently, Master wanted to play by himself. He did that a lot.

Gir reached into the fridge and grabbed his beloved crunchy tacos from Crazy Taco, leaving the soft taco in the fridge. He squeezed one expecting to hear the "crunchy" taco sound, but only received a "squish" sound. Confused, the robot unwrapped his taco only to be horrified. He reached back into the fridge then unwrapped his soft taco to confirm.

"WHY TACOS! WHY!" He began bawling as he held both tacos towards the ceiling as if the Ceiling Gods would answer his question. Running to his master, Gir exclaimed, "Mastah! Mastah! Lookit! LOOKIT!" He held both tacos in Zim's face.

Raising his brow, Zim looked at Gir and decided to humor him. "Yes. Those are tacos, Gir." Tearfully, Gir shouted. "Not that! LOOKIT!" He pushed the tacos further into his master's face so he could better see, shaking them. "The tacos switched BODIES!" To further emphasize this, Gir squeezed both tacos. The "crunchy" taco squished and the "soft" taco crunched.

"Who would do sucha meany thing to poor Mitchie and Schmoozy? HUH?"

"Mitchie and Schmoozy?"

"Duh! Mitchie," Gir shook around the once crunchy taco. "…and Schmoozy!" He shook the formerly soft taco. "WHY, MASTAH? WHY?" Gir cried on the floor leaving a puddle when he suddenly stopped, shoving both tacos into his mouth and stared at Zim. Zim lifted an antenna wondering if all that water fried something in the robot, but that thought was dashed when Gir began to cry again as if he never stopped. "THEY'RE TOO DIFFERENT TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND EACHOTHER!"

Gir jumped up and smiled as though he hadn't just flooded the living room with his tears. "Immah goin' ta play with mini-moose now!" He ran off somewhere to find his floating friend.

Zim watched him go, bemused. He shook his head as he walked to his misplaced toilet. Flushing himself to his labs, Zim once again toyed with the idea of reprogramming his strange SIR Unit until he remembered what happened the last time he tried that. He shuddered. Having a malfunctioning happy-go-lucky Gir was better than a functioning angry rampaging one with a superiority-complex.

Zim goose-stepped to his computer and opened the windows for his cameras. For a month now, he had been keeping a closer eye on his nemesis.

Ever since he first he saw the boy come home covered in blood, some strange…feeling grew in his chest. He didn't know what it was and he didn't like it, but whatever it was, it made him franticly search for the stupid human the next day of school. He pulled him aside to get a good look at his wounds, but to his surprise he found none. Ignoring the shouts from the human, he looked all over the boy and still nothing to cause the huge amount of blood he saw the night before. He saw the cuts on Dib's hands, but after seeing Dib's rampage, he expected them. Besides, they couldn't have been the cause of the massive amount of blood. Aside from that, the most he found was an insignificant bruise on his chest and a bruised backside; there wasn't even a paper cut. _"Where are they?"_ He wondered. He was confused. He knew what he saw and yet here Dib stood contradicting him. Then again, Dib was always like that. _"What the hell are you doing, Zim?"_ The Irken looked up at Dib's pink face wondering why the color looked so good on the human's features before he looked Dib over once more for anything he might have missed and then left back for class. Zim was constantly watching the teen since then. He watched as the Dib came home nine times covered in blood and each time the….feeling grew worse inside him. Shaking the thoughts from his head, Zim looked back to his screen. The human should be done with his shower by now.

He watched as Dib walked out of his bathroom in a cloud of steam holding a towel around his waist. Zim felt his face heat up as the towel sagged slightly below Dib's pale hips. He watched as water droplets slid down his smooth chest and under the blue towel.

"Puppy-head is nekkid!" Gir jumped onto Zim's head and covered his face, giggling at the human's lack of clothes. Growling, Zim shook himself out of his _horrid_ line of thought, inwardly both thanking and, oddly enough, cursing Gir for the interruption. "Get off my head, Gir!" Pushing the robot off his head, Zim looked back at the screen to find that Dib had turned his back to the camera as he searched for something in his drawer. Zim leaned in curious as Dib pulled out an odd small metal sphere. Little blue lights were scattered on the orb and blinked slowly. Dib turned to his camera with a sadistically smug smirk that made Zim pull back some. "Good morning, Zim." Dib pressed the black button on the orb and it made a whirring noise. The lights turned red and blinked rapidly as the orb shot up into the air and flew towards the camera. The orb pulled out a laser and a pair of scissor-like claws and the last thing Zim saw was the red laser's light before the camera went to static.

"NO!" Zim slammed his fists onto the controls. "How did that pig-weasel find it?" Zim heard metallic banging to his right and turned to it to see Gir had joined him in slamming his metal fists into the keyboard, laughing. "I LIKE THIS GAME!"

Zim narrowed his eyes at him and with a growl he shoved the robot off the keyboard and onto the floor. Gir giggled.

A tall dark figure stood out against the red stained landscape, his trench coat billowing in the wind with swift movements. Cold rain pelted him and bled through the black of his coat and onto his dirt and blood covered face, smearing the grime. He looked over the bloodied horizon with mournful eyes. He sighed heavily as he heard the sounds of footsteps behind him. He turned to face it.

A green skinned man stepped forth from the dark trees with a grimace. "I finally found you!"

The dark man smirked, "So you have. What shall you do now that you have, my old friend?" He asked mockingly. The green man snarled, "I can't let you live after what you did!" The dark man grinned slyly. "My memory isn't what it used to be. Remind me, what is it that I have done, again?"

With a growl, the green one stepped forward. "You know _exactly_ what you did! You killed so many people! Even your own sister! YOUR _SISTER_!" He made another move forward. "Why? WHY, DAMN IT!"

The dark man spoke harshly. "Because they deserved it! They deserved _everything_ they have ever done to me!" He swiped his hand to emphasis that his word was final and would not be taken back. "I have been ignoring their injustices for too long! It is about time that I did something! And they killed _her_! She was- I… we were-…" His voice started to crack. "I-….I loved her! And they took her from me! They must pay for their crimes!"

The green one looked at him with a look of disdain. "_Their crimes_? What about yours? HOW DO YOU PLAN ON PAYING FOR _YOUR_ CRIMES?" The dark one smirked, revealing sharp fangs. He looked at the other sardonically. Throwing his arms out to show himself to the other he said, "I already paid the price for my sins! Look at me! Look at what I've become!"

The green one sneered, "Yes. Look at you. You have become what you have always chased. A monster, a vampire." He grabbed his sword and flew at the vampire ready to strike.

A loud scream rang out.

Gaz rapidly pushed the buttons on her Game Slave 3 that she had just bought yesterday. The cut-scene had just ended and playing as the main character, a green skinned vampire hunter, she dodged and parried, fighting off the dark clad vampire.

Gaz ignored Dib's recent device as it flew past destroying some purple objects on the ceiling, but she peered up a bit as her brother walked past her towards the kitchen. She watched him, careful not to be caught in the act. When he was out of sight, she went back to her game. She had noticed that her brother seemed to be acting strangely for the past month. Well, more than usual. He had spent almost two hours in the shower nine times this month and while she knew her brother was a bit of a neat freak, he wasn't _that_ bad.

He had also seemed to get irritated easier and the bags under his eyes grew. When he wasn't sulking in his room, he was in his lab for hours doing who knows what. Normally, this wouldn't bother her, but his odd antics caught her attention when he declined to watch Mysterious Mysteries when it came on.

_Gaz looked up as the opening theme for Mysterious Mysteries came on and stood to go to her room. "Dib, Mysterious Mysteries is on. I'm going upstairs to play my game; I'm not going to stick around for this crap. If you disturb me once while watching your stupid show, I'll-" Dib yelled back to her, "Just go ahead and turn it off. I don't feel like watching it tonight." Gaz turned to the direction of his voice, eyes open in shock before she steeled her face and shut off the TV._

Gaz was shaken out of her thoughts when the news came on with a shocking scene.

Dib smiled as the last of Zim's cameras was destroyed. He grabbed the floating orb and pressed the button on top and the angry red lights changed to a calming blue once more. It dropped from the air and into his palm; he pocketed it into his coat and looked around what was left of his lab. He had been reassembling his lab for the past month and he was about done.

Sighing, he looked at his scarred palms. The scars were light now and were barely visible, but Dib could see them clearly.

He stared at his hands as if he could see the hidden file in them. His vision became fuzzy as his eyes started to tear up. His throat constricted and the lump in his throat was painfully clear. He had been trying to ignore the pain, but it always found its way back. He couldn't escape the thoughts of what was done to his mother, what he was a part of, who he really was. His heart clenched painfully and the tears brimmed in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

In a way, he didn't want to fix the lab. Every time he worked at it, he was reminded of why he destroyed it to begin with. Yet, at the same time, it kept his mind off the pain. It was a conundrum of contradictions and was rather bitter-sweet, but that didn't matter to him. So long as it soothed him even somewhat, that was fine with him.

Clenching his fists, Dib wiped his eyes and determinedly went to work.

A few hours later, Dib was tuckered out and hungry. He had just finished rewiring everything when his stomach rumbled begging for food. He was in such a rush to finish the work that he hadn't eaten that morning. He walked to the elevator and went back up to the kitchen and grabbed an apple when he heard the TV on in the living room.

Surprisingly, Gaz wasn't playing her Game Slave, but was watching the news with wide eyes and her mouth agape. Confused, Dib turned towards the screen and his eyes widened as he choked on his apple.

The reporter was looking at the camera gravely as he read from the cue cards.

"More bodies have turned up this month, all the same as the last: bloody, horrendously disfigured, and brutally slaughtered. Several had broken spines while others bled to death. There are still no leads to culprit, but people have taken to calling him "The Ghost" as no one has even caught a glimpse of the murderer and he has seemingly left no trace of him ever being there. We are now going to our camera at the scene. For those of you with sensitive stomachs and any children that may be watching, we suggest you turn away as what we are about to show you will be graphic."

They showed a scene of an alley filled with bleeding bodies lying scattered everywhere. Some of the bodies were so horribly mangled that they hardly looked human. Dib felt sick.

"Our Action Reporter, Neil, is on the scene as we speak. Let's go to Neil."

The camera panned to a man standing at the front of the alley looking rather green-faced and very skittish. His hair was a mess as though he continuously racked his fingers through it and his button up shirt was wrinkled and untidy.

"W-well, John. We- we a-are here in-in front of the alley th-that…" He gripped at his collar trying to loosen it as he sweated. "That the homicide occurred. As-as you can see," he pointed to the bodies a good distance away, his voice cracking "The victims were stabbed multiple times, s-sla-slashed across the throat, an-and their sp-spines have been snapped."

John interrupted, "Neil, you are going to have get in closer for the viewers to see."

Neil looked up startled and paled. "U-uh….o-okay." He began to slowly scoot closer, but still remained about fifteen feet away.

"Neil, you need to be a _little_ closer."

Neil scooted in two more feet.

It appeared that the camera guy had enough of Neil's pussy-footing so he walked up to Neil, grabbed him by his shirt, shoved the camera in his chest and took his microphone and earwig. "Here, take this and hold the camera steady." He backed up so that the camera could see him and Neil took the camera, shaking.

Camera Guy, made a face at Neil. "Quit shaking the camera. You are going to make people nauseas." He chided as if the dead bodies behind him wouldn't make people sick enough as it was.

John looked at the screen confused, "Uh-"

Camera Guy stood slack with one hand in his pocket and the other held up the microphone. "Sup, John? 'Kay, so we are standing here in front of these dead bodies and stuff. And dude, these guys were _really_ screwed! There is blood everywhere! On the ground, the walls, the dumpsters, and everything! I mean, shit! This dude has his neck practically sliced off." Using his foot, he nudged said man's head for emphasis. "Dude, this is sick! I'd hate to piss off whoever did this."

John looked at Camera Man appalled. "Uh- what do you think you're doing? Don't touch the bodies! The police have to look at the evidence."

Camera Guy looked up at the camera. "Eh? They do? Oh….well." He looked back at the body and shrugged. "Meh, whatever. I'm sure that Danny can distinguish my footprint from the killer's."

"Danny?" John furrowed his brow, befuddled.

Camera Guy sighed. "Duh, Danny! You know, from CSI: New York. With Mac, Lindsay, Jessica, Kaile, Stella, Don, and… those other people! Geez! When do they get here by the way? I want some autographs."

John made a face at the camera and just kind of stared at it for a while as if trying to find out what the hell was going through Camera Man's mind. "Wha- the-the _TV show_? Seriously? A-am I being punked?" He looked around the room trying to find the alleged culprit of this "prank".

Dib and Gaz looked at each other for a moment with shared disbelieving looks. They turned back when John did the same. He righted himself and cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Uh- well, thank you…..um…"

Camera Guy interjected, "Leine."

"Okay? Thank you… Leine for your….interesting commentary."

"No problem, dude."

With a dull glance at Leine, John dropped his face in his hands. "Man, that was terrible, well…. Anyhow, back to the point." He straightened up and shuffled his papers in embarrassment. "We would advise everyone in the area to be very careful and report any signs of "The Ghost" to our number: 555-7662 or should you be attacked or even see someone be attacked by "The Ghost" or anyone else, call this emergency hotline: 555-7822. Now in other news, a rabid hippo is running rampant throu-"

Gaz flicked off the TV and looked up at Dib. "Hey, run down to Bloaty's and grab us some pizza." Dib sent her a perplexed look. "Didn't you hear what they said? There is a homicidal maniac running around killing people!"

She glared up at him from the couch. "Yeah, I don't care. No go before I rip off your skin and hang it on the wall." She turned back to her game as though the news had no effect on her.

Dib stared at her with incredulity. Mumbling Dib grabbed his house key and wallet and headed for the door, but was stopped by his sister.

"While you're at it, grab me a Cherry Fizz-Wizz* too."

Dib gripped the handle tighter before he stepped out and slammed the door.

**Whew! That was long chapter! About eight pages long! We are finally getting into the ZADR bit now. There was a small snippet of it here. I should warn you that the relationship may be slow coming as I rather dislike "instant love" stories. The best part is the "falling-but-in-denial" and "getting-together" stages. I like to draw out their torture. XD**

**I thought this mught be fun. You know how phone numbers use the number-letter code? Like 3-2-9-4 is D-A-W-G? I thought it might be fun to decode the phone numbers. I think I'm going to do this everytime I use a phone number. Can you guess what the numbers say? **

**By the way, a Fizz-Wizz* is from another of Jhonen's brilliant creations: his comic, Johny the Homicidal Maniac. The main character, Johny( or Nny as he prefers) is, as the title says, a **_**homicidal maniac**_** that loves Cherry Fizz-Wizz, a slurpee. I love this comic and I would highly recommend that you read it, however it is rather graphic. Anyhow, until next time!**


	7. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay, I apologize, everyone, for having you wait as long as you did, but I unfortunately have to ask for you to wait a while longer. Previously, I had undergone brain surgery and was recovering for weeks. However, I did not think it would be as difficult as it was to catch up in school from said recovery. As it was my senior year, I had to drop almost everything to work on getting back on track. Regrettably, it didn't help one of my classes and I didn't pass it, so I didn't properly graduate. Which means I will be taking an online class to make up that credit and get my diploma. But before I can do that, I am packing up to move out of state in about three weeks. Then we need to find a house. So, until everything is absolutely settled, all of my stories, **Embracing Insanity**, **Sweet Tooth**, and **Midnight Ride in Sleepy Hollow** will all be **on hold**. I apologize once more to those that were looking forward to reading more. I will try to get back to this as soon as I am able.

Always,

PsychoBoss


End file.
